The Technical Consultation on the Allocation of Fishery Resources held at Vichy, France, from 21 to 23 April 1980, was organized to study, at the international level, the allocation of fishery and related resources between commercial, recreational and other uses. While primarily focused on recreational fishery aspects, the basic approach was comprehensive and covered all uses. Specifically, the overall goal of the Consultation was to study and evaluate alternatives for the conservation and management of fishery resources so as to optimize the generation of overall benefits to society. The detailed objectives were to:
examine the ways in which fish stocks and the aquatic environment can be managed to provide maximum net benefit from fisheries where there are alternative uses for these resources;
explore ways whereby various uses of fishery resources and aquatic environments can be defined and quantified for decision-making;
examine the application of new socio-economic theories to the management of recreational fisheries and other related uses of aquatic resources;
consider the possibilities of and the problems associated with developing better basic national and international fishery statistics;
review ways in which the public can be best informed about the contribution of recreational fisheries to human welfare and national and international wellbeing and
promote international cooperation in the understanding and management of recreational fisheries.
The Technical Consultation was organized and sponsored by: the European Inland Fisheries Advisory Commission (EIFAC), a regional subsidiary body of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) comprising 25 European countries, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans of Canada, and the Department of the Interior and Department of Commerce of the United States of America. It was attended by 146 participants from 16 countries and three international organizations (see Annex 1).
The Steering Committee, which met five times, was as follows:
| Members | |
| J.-L. Gaudet, Chairman | Secretary of EIFAC Fisheries Department, FAO 00100 Rome, Italy |
| J. Brachet | Chef du Service de la Pêche et de l'Hydrobiologie Direction de la Protection de la Nature Ministère de la Culture et de l'Environnement 14 bd du Général Leclerc Neuilly-sur-Seine, France |
| J. Choulet | Secrétaire général, Conseil supérieur de la Pêche 10 rue Péclet Paris, France |
| P. Hooper | Department of the Interior US Fish and Wildlife Service Washington, DC USA |
| R.F. Hutton | Department of Commerce National Marine Fisheries Service Washington, DC USA |
| B. Steinmetz | Department of Fisheries The Hague, The Netherlands |
| A.L.W. Tuomi | Senior Adviser, Recreational Fisheries Department of Fisheries and Oceans Ottawa, Canada K1A OE6 |
| Secretariat | |
| R.L. Welcomme and F. Henderson | Technical Secretaries of EIFAC Fisheries Department, FAO 00100 Rome, Italy |
The Consultation was organized in five consecutive panels:
| PANEL 1 - International Review of Recreational Fisheries | ||
| Chairman | A.L.W. Tuomi (Canada) | |
| Members | J.S. Alabaster (UK) J.-L. Gaudet (FAO, Italy) R.F. Hutton (USA) M. Leopold (Poland) M. Martini (France) | |
| PANEL 2 - The “Best Use” of Fishery Resources | ||
| Chairman | J.S. Gottschalk (USA) | |
| Members | J. Choulet (France) W.A. Dill (USA) K.E. McConnell (USA) B. Steinmetz (Netherlands) | |
| PANEL 3 - Methodologies for Evaluating Recreational Fisheries | ||
| Chairman | I. Norling (Sweden) | |
| Members | J.J. Charbonneau (USA) D.G. Devel (USA) A.P.C. Kerstens (Netherlands) A.L.W. Tuomi (Canada) M.J. Stabler (UK) R.H. Stroud (USA) | |
| PANEL 4 - Fishery and Resource Use Conflicts | ||
| Chairman | R. Cuinat (France) | |
| Members | J.S. Alabaster (UK) W.M. Carter (Canada) G. Leynaud (France) M. Larinier (France) M.L. Parry (UK) H. Regier (Canada) T.R. Rice (USA) C. Stalnaker (USA) R. Vibert (France) F. Vincent (USA) H. Decamps (France) | |
| PANEL 5 - Conclusions and Recommendations | ||
| Chairman | J. Servat (France) | |
| Members | R. Cuinat (France) J.-L. Gaudet (FAO, Italy) J.S. Gottschalk (USA) I. Norling (Sweden) A.L.W. Tuomi (Canada) | |
In each case the Panel Chairman presented a review based on his knowledge of the topic and the papers relevant to his Panel. His initial review was supplemented by comments on specific subjects by other panel members. A general discussion followed.
